The excerpt offers details of how rudimentary the table, dishes and cutlery were. There is no sophistication; everything about them is rustic - the materials as well as the way they are made. There is wood, horn, pewter. There is a table carved with a broad-axe. There are hunting-knives instead of table knives. If something broke easily - and the author says crockery did -, it was discarded. Durability and usefulness were priorities.
